Tony Holtrust responds to Steele Street shooting

Snap Fitness of Ionia Trainer Tony Holtrust was working at Ionia Wash King as the night shift attendant Wednesday evening when he heard gun shots outside.

Mattie Cookmattie.cook@sentinel-standard.com

Snap Fitness of Ionia Trainer Tony Holtrust was working at Ionia Wash King as the night shift attendant Wednesday evening when he heard gun shots outside.

"I was counting the till and I heard a sound outside and I said, 'That's got to be a gunshot based on the way it is ringing through the building,'" Holtrust said.

Holtrust told his co-worker to call 9-1-1 and then heard four more shots and ran to the scene.

As he ran toward the vehicles, he saw the passengers of one of the cars beating on the hood and saying, "Call the cops."

"I approached the silver Taurus and I saw a guy with a gun in his hand, so I told him I was going to kick the gun out of his hand and then asked him if he was all right. There was a lot of blood and his was blinking and moaning," said Holtrust.

Then, he turned to the next shooter, who he reported was gasping and turning purple.

"I tried to do CPR and I yelled, 'Where are the cops?' and eventually they came all at once," said Holtrust.

When the police came, they handcuffed Holtrust in order to secure the area.

"I didn't think about what I was doing, one of the trainer requirements for Snap Fitness is to learn CPR so I just did what I had to do," said Holtrust.

When the cops realized that Holtrust was a hero, not a bad guy, he was released.

"I don't feel like a hero. I did what I could," Holtrust said.

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